New Zealand Law Society Signs MoU with Open Polytechnic

The New Zealand Law Society has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with the Open Polytechnic over a
new qualification for legal executives.

From 2018, the
Open Polytechnic will offer the New Zealand Diploma in Legal
Executive Studies. The MoU will see the Law Society and the
Open Polytechnic work together over the next three years to
make sure the programme meets the expectations of the legal
profession.

The New Zealand Diploma in Legal Executive
Studies will replace the NZLS Legal Executive Diploma, which
is being phased out.

“Legal executives play a very
important role in the legal profession, and the Law Society
is happy to be working with the Open Polytechnic to ensure
that students continue to receive a quality education,”
said Tim Jones, New Zealand Law Society Vice President
(Auckland).

Students who had already begun their studies
in the NZLS Legal Executive Diploma, and will have completed
all six papers in the diploma by the end of 2017, will be
awarded this qualification by the Law Society. Students who
have already begun their studies in the NZLS Legal Executive
Diploma, but will not finish all six papers by the end of
2017, will transition, with cross-credits, into the new
qualification, the New Zealand Diploma in Legal Executive
Studies.

A legal executive is a person who works as a
trained assistant to a lawyer in a legal or quasi-legal
environment. The work covers a wide range of activities
including searching public registers, preparing and filing
documents, preparing estates, sale and purchase of real
estate or a business, and debt recovery. A legal executive
may interview clients on behalf of a lawyer but does not
appear in
court.

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